JKos Network to roll out expanded services on Monday

By Ted Chen / Staff reporter

Fri, Feb 09, 2018 - Page 12

Jkos Network Co Ltd (街口網絡) yesterday said it is ready to roll out its expanded JKo Pay (街口支付) on Monday, less than a month after being granted an electronic institution license by the Financial Supervisory Commission.

With its new license, customers may now link their bank accounts to the company’s wallet app to transfer funds, as well as top off their stored-value accounts or make direct payments from their savings deposits.

The app is also capable of delivering “red envelope” cash gifts, in time for the Lunar New Year holiday, the company said.

Prior to the expansion, the company can only act as an agent collecting funds and making payments on behalf of its customers under the limited scope of its third-party payment business license.

The company has made a major milestone toward serving its core customer group — younger consumers — who have limited access to credit cards that are required in other popular global services, such as Apple Pay and Line Pay, it said.

Citing the outcome of a survey with local banks, the company said that Jko Pay’s popularity has since surpassed its global credit card-linked rivals, without revealing detailed usage figures.

Average monthly transactions have exceed 2 million and have been growing rapidly, the company said.

To promote its new bank-linked services, the company is waiving for at least two years all fees for transferring funds between Jko Pay users, as well as transferring funds from users’ bank accounts and their Jko Pay-stored deposits, it said.

Jkos Network founder and chief operating officer Kevin Hu (胡亦嘉) said that as Taiwan continues to progress toward a cashless society, the company aims to build an ecosystem around its payment services, adding that the firm has taken a first step by displacing the credit card.